Hell Hath No Fury
by angstydaydreams
Summary: Danny suddenly takes violently ill. Steve worries. For all the Danny whumpers out there.
1. Chapter 1

Just a little Happy New Year, Happy New Episode (in the US) pressie for the Danny whumpers out there. Light on plot—heavy on whump!

Standard disclaimer—not a medical expert, just a girl with google and lot of creative license. My apologies to any actual medical professionals for any inaccuracies.

Thank you so very much to my beta, the awesome and wonderful JoaniexJony. You rock, girl.

Hope you enjoy…

**Hell Hath No Fury**

Detective Danny Williams yawned. It was only two in the afternoon, but he and the rest of 5-0 had been up for the last thirty six hours working a high profile kidnapping case. Sheer adrenaline had kept the exhaustion at bay. With the case now closed it was fading fast, and all Danny wanted was to finish his report, go home, and go to bed.

Kono and Chin were down at HPD booking their kidnapper. Steve and Lori had gone to fill in the Governor. That had left him with the paperwork. Danny sighed and stretched, blearily rubbing at his eyes before peering once more at his computer screen. He sighed tiredly—he was crashing fast, and his eyes were refusing to focus.

He reached to his left and popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth, washing it down with a swig of soda. He was moving his hands back to the keyboard when the first cramp hit his stomach. The pain so severe, it doubled him over. He'd barely caught his breath when he felt the bile rising in his gut. Desperately he twisted in his chair, trying to make it to the garbage can.

He was still in mid-motion, his knees just barely hitting the floor when he began to retch. Frantically he grabbed the trash can. He hunched over it, clinging helplessly to its edges as the acrid sickness exploded out of his mouth in an unending stream. Just when he thought he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, the puking stopped. His body trembling, heart racing, he gasped for air. Weakly he hung over the garbage can, resting his forehead on his arm.

"Shit," he whimpered, nearly choking on the vile taste in his mouth. "Shit, shit…shit."

Another wave of cramps sent him sprawling to the floor. He clutched at his stomach, and groaned in agony. One of his arms instinctively wrapped around his middle, as if that could protect him from the pain.

Dimly he heard someone enter his office and call out his name. Just as he was about to try and open his eyes and respond, the nausea hit again. Powerless to stop it, he vomited in a long torturous heave. Then his lungs demanded air and he involuntarily sucked in a breath. The rancid bile reversed directions and he began to choke on it.

Strong hands grabbed him, muscled him into a sitting position. Finally the nausea passed and he shuddered, coughing and sputtering.

Danny heard Steve yelling at him, but he couldn't answer. His voice was gone, lost in a paroxysm of coughing. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he wheezed and panted. His heart pounded. The room spun dizzyingly. Steve's arms tightened around him, propping him tight against his chest.

Then the searing pain was back and he cried out in agony. He wanted to curl into the pain but Steve's arms were like iron around his chest. His legs twitched and his hands tightened into fists. "No," he moaned piteously.

"Make…stop…can't," Danny pleaded hoarsely, weakly shaking his head.

He didn't hear Steve's response, because it was happening again. This time, as his stomach heaved, as his lungs fought and strained for air, as his body jerked and trembled, he couldn't hold on. And everything went black.

**- H-50 –**

Steve whistled as he sauntered down the hall. He was tired, but it was a good tired. His team had saved a life today and taken another scumbag off the streets. Days didn't get much better than that. He'd already sent Lori home, now he was about to make sure Danny was on his way as well.

"Danno!" Steve called towards Danny's open office door. "You about done?"

The silence that greeted him was the first sign something was wrong. Instinctively his hand drifted to the gun on his waist.

"Danno?" He called again, cautiously approaching his partner's office. "You in there, buddy?"

Steve heard a low moan, and his wary sidle turned into a sprint.

"Danny!" Steve cried out as he burst into the office to find his best friend sprawled on the floor, an overturned trashcan next to him. The distinct smell of vomit hung in the air, a pool of it at his partner's head.

Steve knelt down, hauling his partner up and stabilizing the other man's body against his chest.

"What's going on, Danny?" Steve asked, patting Danny lightly on the cheek even as he slipped his other hand into his cargoes and yanked out his phone. "Come on, talk to me buddy. You were fine an hour ago. What happened?"

Dialing 911, Steve pressed two fingers to the pulse point on Danny's neck.

Suddenly Danny cried out, his body going rigid with pain. Steve struggled to keep the other man upright.

"_911, what's your emergency?"_

"My name is Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, head of the 5-0 task force. I need an ambulance at 5-0 headquarters. My partner, Detective Danny Williams, is suffering from sudden onset severe abdominal pain and vomiting. He's tachycardic and I think he's aspirated some of the vomit into his lungs. He's beginning to have difficulty breathing."

"_Yes Commander. EMT's are on their way. ETA ten minutes. Is your partner conscious?"_

"Barely," Steve answered tersely.

"No," Danny moaned, his head tossing agitatedly from side to side against Steve's chest.

"Danny?" Steve asked, glancing down at his partner. "You with me?"

"Make…stop…can't," Danny pleaded, his hands fluttering restlessly at Steve's arms.

"Hang in there, Danny," Steve squeezed Danny's arm reassuringly. "Paramedics are on the way. Just hang in there."

Danny began to throw up again, his body shaking and shuddering until the sick man suddenly went limp. Steve cursed. Gently laying his partner on his side he attempted to clear his airway.

"Jesus Christ," Steve gave a panicked whisper. "Don't do this, Danny. Come on."

"Commander McGarrett!" A voice shouted from down the hall.

"In here!" Steve yelled back. "Hurry up! I don't think he's breathing!"

The paramedics hustled into the office, quickly pulling their kits from the gurney and dropping to the floor next to their patient.

Reluctantly Steve backed out of the way, anxiously watching as the EMT's went to work. In what seemed like seconds, they'd established two IV's, hooked Danny up to cardiac and pulse ox monitors, secured a blood pressure cuff around his left bicep, and had begun pushing air into his lungs with an ambu bag.

As one of the paramedics relayed Danny's condition to HMC, the other began asking Steve questions.

"Is your partner on any medication?" the EMT asked, his eyes glued to the monitor readings. Seemingly satisfied, he set the ambu bag down.

"No," Steve answered.

"Has he had any recent health problems?" the EMT asked, flashing a penlight into Danny's eyes.

"No," Steve said, clenching his hands into fists.

"Has he complained of headaches recently? Chest pain? Stomach pain?" the EMT continued, placing an oxygen mask over Danny's nose and mouth.

"No," Steve shook his head. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

"Could be a lot of things—poisoning, drug overdose, stroke, heart attack, appendicitis," the EMT replied. "They'll have to run tests at the hospital."

"We're a scoop and run," the other EMT clicked off with HMC's Emergency Department. "Doc wants us to bring a sample of the vomit," he continued as he helped his partner load their patient onto the gurney. They positioned Danny on his side in case he began to throw up again.

"I got it," Steve snagged the trash can, pulling out the bag and tying it into a knot.

"Let's go," the paramedic said, guiding the gurney down the hall.

Steve ran after them, quickly making a call to Chin, ordering him to call their team in and head back to the Palace. He needed to know every single thing his partner had done between the time they'd last seen him and when he'd taken ill. Something had happened in that sixty minutes. They needed to find out what, before it cost Danny his life.

**-H-50—**

Steve stood against the back wall of the trauma room and watched as a team of doctors and nurses worked in concert to save his partner's life. He'd refused to leave. If someone out there had done harm to Danny, Steve was going to make damn sure they didn't get a second chance.

He figured his presence in this room would go down as one of those things it would be far better Danny never found out about. Within moments of being transferred to the gurney in the trauma room, Danny had been quickly and efficiently stripped naked. Only after they'd completed about a half dozen invasive procedures, including cramming an intubation tube down Danny's throat and inserting a Foley catheter, did they throw a hospital gown over their patient's midriff in an attempt at modesty.

Steve had watched, feeling utterly helpless, as they drew vial after vial of blood, extracted urine for testing, and hooked Danny up to a variety of monitors.

While they waited on test results, Danny's doctor, Jenna Clark, began treating symptoms. She administered medications to counter his low blood pressure and his fast heart rate. She ordered the nurses to suction out Danny's trachea. The doctor also conducted a thorough physical examination, spending extra time palpating Danny's abdomen and listening to his heart and lungs.

When the lab called, announcing they'd found high levels of ipecac syrup in Danny's urine as well as in his vomit, the team again leapt into action. They'd positioned Danny on his left side, shoved another tube down his throat, and began to pump out his stomach. They'd repeated the process again and again until finally Danny's stomach contents came back clear.

At this point, the one good thing about any of this was that Danny was unconscious.

Except maybe he wasn't. Steve frowned. He was positive he'd just seen Danny's foot twitch. He inched closer to the bed and inwardly groaned. Danny's leg definitely moved, and then his blue eyes opened to slits. Firmly, he took Danny's ankle in his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

Danny's petite red haired doctor glanced over at Steve and quickly leaned down over the head of the bed. She began talking quietly to her patient, but it didn't stop Danny's body from going rigid with tension or the heart monitor from speeding up.

"Steve, why don't you come up here for a second?" Jenna motioned Steve forward. "See if you can calm him down. I'd rather not sedate him if I don't have to."

"Activated charcoal is ready, Doctor," one of the nurses called out.

"Good," Jenna nodded. "Let's get it on board."

Steve stepped forward, moving up to the top of the gurney. He knelt by Danny's head. He was careful to remain out of the way of the medical team as they flooded Danny's stomach and digestive tract with the solution that would absorb the toxicity of the drug that had poisoned him.

Steve smiled at his partner, placing his hand gently on the back of his friend's neck. "Can't even leave you alone for an hour, can I?"

Danny's eyes tracked to Steve's face. Steve could admit that he might have a _look._ He knew Danny definitely had a tone, but Danny also had another tell—his eyes. They were completely transparent, and right now they were filled with pain, confusion and fear.

"Hey, it's okay, Danno," Steve soothed. "You're going to be okay."

Danny winced. His fingers curled into loose fists and his heart rate sped back up. His lips twitched miserably around the tubes in his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut as tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

"Doc?" Steve glanced worriedly at Jenna.

"The abdominal cramping should subside as the ipecac is absorbed by the charcoal," Jenna explained. She glanced over at one of the nurses. "Kalia, go ahead and administer five mgs of morphine, IV push."

Within moments of being given the pain killer, Danny's body relaxed, his eyes sliding closed. His heart rate, though, continued to beat at a staccato rhythm.

"Damn," Jenna muttered to herself. "Kalia, push another five mgs of Digoxin. If that doesn't work, let's prep to cardiovert. And find out what's holding up Nakamura."

"What's going on, Doc?" Steve asked. He pushed himself slowly back up to a standing position. He glanced worriedly down at his again unconscious partner.

Jenna sighed and then motioned Steve to join her at a slight distance from Danny. He could tell she didn't want her patient to possibly overhear what she had to say.

"You understand what ipecac syrup does?" Jenna asked.

"It's used most commonly to induce vomiting after an overdose or a poisoning," Steve nodded.

"Your partner was given approximately twice the recommended levels. In acute high dosages, or chronic long term abuse, ipecac can cause serious, life threatening cardiac problems. I'm concerned that the tachycardia is not resolving, so I've called down the cardiologist on call to take a look." Jenna's eyes strayed to the heart monitor before she looked back again at Steve.

"It can also cause severe nausea and abdominal pain along with drowsiness and lethargy. As soon as we're done treating the overdose we'll take Danny up to the ICU. To make sure his airway is protected, we'll leave the vent in until he fully wakes up. After that it's a case of monitoring his condition. Hopefully within twenty four hours he'll stabilize and we can move him to a regular room. If he remains stable, we should be able to release him in a day or two and I'd expect no further complications." Jenna once again glanced over at the heart monitor, nodding slightly in satisfaction as the rhythm finally began to slow.

"He aspirated some of the vomit before I got to him," Steve said worriedly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Aspiration pneumonia is a concern," Jenna admitted with a frown. "In fact, the tachycardia could easily be a symptom of that as much as a result of the overdose. I've ordered a chest X-Ray and blood gases. We did a thorough suctioning of his upper airway so I'm hopeful we got most of it out, but I've also called up to Pulmonary for a consult. But I'm afraid we're in a 'wait and see' kind of mode now."

"Thanks Doc," Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. "We're still not sure who did this to him, so a member of my team will be with him at all times."

"Understandable," Jenna nodded. "I trust I can count on you to stay out of the way of the medical staff."

"Of course," Steve assured her.

"Does he have any family?" Jenna asked.

"An ex-wife and a daughter," Steve slowly moved back towards Danny's gurney.

"You might want to call them," she said quietly, stepping away from the Navy SEAL and pulling her stethoscope out of her pocket. "Things could get a lot worse before they get better."

Steve watched silently as the doctor moved the bell of the stethoscope over Danny's chest. From the look of concern on her face as she looped the device back around her neck, he feared Danny's recovery was not going to take the smooth and easy road.

tbc

Make my day and hit the review button—I always love to hear what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

First, wow and thank you! I'm just amazed by all the positive responses to the story. Thank you so much for all the alerts. Special thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a review! I appreciate that so much!

I'm so lucky to have the awesome JoaniexJony for my beta! Thank you so much for all your encouragement and support!

Well, I hope you're in the mood for some sick Danny…

**Hell Hath No Fury—Chapter Two**

Steve leaned against the glass partition outside of Danny's ICU cubicle and watched as Danny's pulmonologist, Doctor Mira Suzuki, efficiently inserted a bronchoscope down Danny's throat.

Danny had come around shortly after arriving in the ICU. He'd been confused and disoriented at first, but quickly become lucid. They'd removed the breathing tube, replacing it with supplemental oxygen delivered through a nasal cannula. He was congested and wheezing, running a low grade fever.

Dr. Suzuki had shown up with the X-Rays Dr. Clark had ordered and broken the news that Danny had indeed developed aspiration pneumonia and that she needed to perform a bronchoscopy. The procedure would allow her to both suction out and collect samples of the sputum clogging Danny's lungs. Within minutes of Danny signing the release forms, they'd kicked Steve out and sedated Danny for the procedure.

"How's he doing, brah?" Chin settled next to Steve at the glass and gazed inside at his teammate.

"He's hanging in there." Steve tore his gaze away from his partner and looked at Chin. "What do we know?"

"Darlene Royce made her husband Phil a chicken salad sandwich spiked with ipecac syrup. Apparently, she'd found some credit card charges for lingerie that were _definitely_ not her own. Believing she'd found proof of her husband's infidelity, she decided to share her pain by drugging his lunch," Chin shook his head. "There was some in the house which her cousin had been given after an overdose in order to induce vomiting. Darlene was pretty upset when I told her it could be fatal."

"How the hell did Danny end up with the sandwich?" Steve asked, pinching his brow between his fingers.

"Phil walked into the break room and saw Danny attempting to tip the vending machine to get a candy bar that had gotten stuck. He intervened and offered Danny his own lunch. Phil hadn't needed it since some of the guys in his department had sprung for a pizza," Chin explained.

"And Danny ended up paying the price for Phil's infidelity," Steve shook his head in disgust. "Jesus."

"Last place a cop ever wants to be is in the middle of a domestic dispute," Chin said somberly.

"Where is Darlene now?" Steve asked, his voice hard as he turned his gaze back to his partner. His suffering partner. His jaw clenched. His fingers curled into fists and it was all he could do not to throw a punch at the wall.

"Kono's booking her on assault charges. Lori is talking to the DA." Chin said. "They're going to join us here when they're done."

"Good," Steve's eyes narrowed in anger. "I want the book thrown at her."

As Dr. Suzuki removed the bronchoscope from Danny's mouth, Steve moved towards the doorway to Danny's cubicle. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited impatiently for the medical staff to finish up with his best friend.

Finally Dr. Suzuki moved away from her patient, walking towards the door. She was a tall woman, at least as tall as Steve. And thin as a rail. Her shoulder length dark hair was just beginning to show signs of gray. She would have cut an imposing figure, but for kind eyes and a warm smile.

"You can go back in Commander," Dr. Suzuki said. "Danny will be out of it for a while, but when he wakes up his throat is going to be sore. I'll make sure the nurses leave you some ice chips—give him as many as he wants. Fluids are good for him right now. See if you can get him to take some Gatorade or water, but don't fret if he won't. We'll compensate with IV fluids until he starts to feel better."

Steve nodded, glancing inside the hospital room. The nurses had slightly raised Danny's bed, positioning him on his side to help his breathing. His partner's face was pale and even from the doorway, Steve could hear the wheeze.

Dr. Suzuki gently touched Steve's shoulder. "As soon as we get the lab results back, we'll get Danny on antibiotics. At this point I'm optimistic. He's very sick right now, but he's getting all the right support to help him make a full recovery."

"Thanks, Doc," Steve sighed, giving the doctor a slight smile.

"You go on in, Steve," Chin said. "I'll wait for Kono and then we'll do a food run. We'll pick up some Gatorade for Danny."

"Thanks, Chin," Steve scrubbed his face with his hand. "See if you can find the blue kind—Danny likes that one."

"You got it bruddah," Chin nodded.

Steve walked back inside the cubicle, pulling the hard plastic chair next to the bed. He sat down, slumping against the uncomfortable chair back. He settled his head against his hand and watched his partner sleep.

**-H5-0—**

Danny coughed, blearily opening his eyes. With great disappointment he realized it hadn't all just been a bad dream—he was still in the ICU and he _still _felt like shit. He wondered what time it was. From the low lighting and the lack of activity outside his cubicle, he guessed it must be night time. Next to his bed, Steve was slouched in a chair, softly snoring.

Danny shivered and coughed again. His chest felt like a hundred pound rock was sitting on it. It hurt like a son of a bitch to breathe and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. He found himself thankful for the oxygen placed just under his nose.

He didn't need a thermometer to know he was running a fever. His skin was roasting hot, and he could feel drops of sweat on his chest and face. It dampened his hair and was pooling in the small of his back. Yet despite the weight of the blankets covering him, he couldn't seem to get warm.

The heart monitor beeped softly in the background. He was no expert, but it sounded like it was beating faster than it should be. He didn't remember seeing his cardiologist, but Dr. Suzuki had explained the concern about damage to his heart. The electrodes for the EKG were everywhere. Wrists, both ankles, and all across his chest. He couldn't move without pulling one of the wires.

An echocardiogram had been scheduled for the next day. It freaked him out, and he didn't want to think about it. He still didn't even know why this had all happened.

Miserably Danny coughed again. He wasn't fond of hospitals in general, but he hated being in the ICU. It was impossible to get comfortable. The adhesive of the EKG pads was sticky and pulled at his body hair. The blood pressure cuff too tightly squeezed his upper arm. The pulse ox dragged on his finger making his hand feel clumsy. The IV's pinched, and they'd inserted two, both in his right arm and hand. The catheter tugged sharply at very sensitive and private parts of his body. His throat hurt and his stomach muscles were sore. His head pounded and every joint in his body ached.

Without question this would go down as one of the worst days of his life.

Steve suddenly started, coming awake with a jerk. Disoriented, his eyes darted around the room before they finally settled on Danny.

"Hey," Danny croaked.

"Hey," Steve replied, scrubbing wearily at his face. With a slight groan he pulled himself into an upright position and leaned forward. "How you feeling?"

"Had…better days," Danny wheezed.

The tickle started in his throat and before he could stop it, he was coughing uncontrollably. The deep wracking coughs ripped through his lungs, sending his stomach muscles into spasms. Pain spiked in his head and chest. His heart pounded. By the time the coughing subsided, Danny was completely spent. He lay limply against the pillows, eyes closed, panting in slow shallow breaths.

"You good?" Steve asked quietly, his fingers lightly brushing Danny's arm.

Eyes still closed, Danny slightly shook his head. He wasn't good. He was miserable. And a small part of him was more than a little afraid his lungs were going to completely close up and he was gonna die. Steve's fingers tightened around his forearm.

"I know it goes against your nature, Danno, but for once in your life, you should really try not to talk," Steve suggested lightly. "I mean, who knows, you might even find you like being quiet. Although, I'm not sure, that might be one of the signs of the apocalypse."

Danny opened one eye and glared balefully at his partner, momentarily distracted from the effort it took to breathe. He opened his mouth to speak but the tickle in his throat threatened to come back with a vengeance, so he thought better of it. He closed his eyes again and settled for flipping Steve off.

"Nice, Danno, I'm just trying to be helpful," Steve grinned slightly. "The Doc said your throat would be pretty sore so the nurse brought up some ice chips. You want one?"

At Danny's nod, Steve plucked a piece of ice out of the cup and gently slid it between Danny's lips. Danny gratefully sucked on the ice cube, the cold water soothing his ravaged throat.

"You want something to drink? We got you some Gatorade." Steve asked.

Danny shook his head, cautiously venturing a few words. "Ice…good."

"You want another one?" Steve asked.

Danny nodded, eyes still closed, and opened his mouth when he felt Steve press the ice chip against his lips. The cool trickle down his throat was heaven and greedily he waved a finger towards Steve to indicate he was ready for another one.

Before Steve could fish out another ice chip, Danny heard the sliding glass door of the cubicle open. He opened his eyes to see who his visitor was.

A pretty blonde nurse carrying an instrument tray stepped inside and smiled apologetically at the two men. "Hi guys, sorry to interrupt. I'm Becky. I've been assigned to Danny's room for the night."

The nurse set the tray on a nearby table and then moved to Danny's left side and checked the placement of the blood pressure cuff around Danny's upper arm. She hit the button on the nearby machine to start the reading.

Danny rolled his head on the pillow to look up at her as the cuff tightened uncomfortably around his arm.

"How are you feeling tonight Danny?" She asked as she pulled a thermometer out of her smock pocket.

"He feels like crap," Steve supplied.

"I…can talk…" Danny wheezed in a breath, glaring at his partner, "For myself…Steven." He coughed slightly, feeling the urge to cough building in the back of his throat. Carefully he breathed in and out, managing to contain it before it got out of control.

"I know you can talk, Danno, believe me," Steve said dryly. "I thought we'd agreed you shouldn't."

"Not…my mother," Danny whispered, closing his eyes.

"I'm going to take your temp now, Danny," Becky explained as she gently turned Danny's head on the pillow. She slid the tip of the thermometer into Danny's ear, pulling it back out after it beeped an alert that it was done. "102.5," she said. "It's up a little bit. I'll get you some more ibuprofen. Hold on, I'll be right back."

Becky slipped outside the room. Danny lost sight of her as she walked around a corner. He turned his eyes to his partner.

"Know…who?" Danny grimaced, his voice like gravel.

Steve gazed somberly at his best friend, having no problem interpreting Danny's shorthand. Slowly he nodded. "Yeah, we do. You weren't the intended target, Danny."

"Who?" Danny wheezed a painful breath.

"Phil," Steve answered. "Look Danno, we don't have to talk about this now."

"Why?" Danny pressed, confusion all over his face.

"Because Phil is a cheating bastard and his loony tunes wife decided poisoning him was an appropriate response," Steve said harshly. "I hope they charge her with attempted murder."

"They have…two kids," Danny winced, his throat like sandpaper.

"Well maybe she should have thought of them before she tried to kill their father," Steve responded softly.

"Good…point," Danny conceded, exhaustion overwhelming him.

Becky reentered the cubicle holding a small paper cup. She filled a plastic cup on Danny's bedside table with water and popped a straw into it. She handed him the pills and then helped him sit up slightly so he could swallow.

Becky eased Danny back down on the bed and then swung her stethoscope from around her neck and fit the earpieces into her ears. "How's your breathing, Danny?" she asked.

"Feels…like an elephant's…on my chest," Danny admitted, his breath whistling in his chest.

"All right," she said as she slipped the chest piece under the top of Danny's hospital gown. "Let's have a listen. Just breathe normally for me, okay?"

Danny flinched as the cold metal diaphragm pressed against the bare skin of his chest. He closed his eyes. For several minutes the nurse slowly moved the chest piece from place to place as he breathed and then repeated the process on his back. After studying some of the readings on his monitors, she adjusted a knob on the wall over his bed.

"You're pretty congested, so I've increased your air flow. It should make it a little easier for you to breathe. If you start to really struggle, we can put you on a mask." Becky said.

She turned around and picked up something from the tray table. "You should also start to use this," she said, handing the object over to Danny. "It's a bronchodilator and it'll help open up your air passages. Use it when you start to wheeze."

Next she picked up a small bottle. "Dr. Suzuki has also prescribed cough syrup with codeine. Two tablespoons every four to six hours. It'll give you relief from your cough and help you rest."

Becky opened up the bottle and filled the plastic measuring cup that came with it. She walked around the bed and slipped a hand behind Danny's neck, helping him to sit up slightly so he could drink the cough syrup.

"Blech," Danny griped, scrunching his face and smacking his lips. "That's nasty."

"Here," Steve held out a cup of water with a straw.

Danny took a sip, gratefully washing the vile taste from his mouth. "Thanks."

Danny fell back against the pillows, watching as Becky picked up the last item from her tray. It was a small IV bag. She hung it on a metal bracket of the IV stand next to Danny's bed and attached it to one of the lines already running into Danny's arm.

She adjusted the flow and then turned towards her patient. "Dr. Suzuki did find bacteria when she did the bronchoscopy, so she's prescribed IV antibiotics. Let me know if you start to feel nauseas. Dr. Suzuki also prescribed an anti-emetic."

"Will all this help bring his fever down and clear up the pneumonia?" Steve asked, his blue eyes full of concern.

"That's the idea," Becky nodded. She patted Danny lightly on the shoulder. "Give it twenty four hours and you should start feeling a lot less like crap."

"I like her," Steve pointed a finger towards Becky and grinned.

"Back off," Danny rasped, weakly waving a hand towards Steve. "She's…my nurse."

Becky laughed. "You're doing great, Danny. Your symptoms are very typical for someone with aspiration pneumonia. You just hang in there. I'll be back to check on you in a bit, but if you need anything just hit the call button. Okay?"

"Mm…hmmm…" Danny nodded sleepily.

"Get some rest," the nurse advised. "If you're having trouble sleeping, let me know and I'll get you a sedative."

She smiled as she let herself out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

"You should…go home Steven," Danny blinked drowsily at his partner. "You're…exhausted."

"I'm fine, Danny," Steve picked up the inhaler and put it in Danny's hand. "Here, use the inhaler. You're wheezing."

"Bossy…control freak," Danny groused, but he put the inhaler to his mouth and released the medication.

"Stop your whining," Steve countered. "Go to sleep."

"You…go to sleep," Danny slurred hoarsely, his eyelids growing so heavy he could barely keep them open.

"You first," Steve grinned and settled back into his chair.

Danny forced his eyes open and looked at his best friend. "You really don't…have to stay."

"Well it's pretty obvious from the mess you got yourself into today that you need a babysitter," Steve smirked. "I think I'll stay."

"Blaming…the victim, Steven?" Danny arched an eyebrow at his partner. "Why am I not…surprised? Neanderthal."

"Danny, would you just shut up and go to sleep already?" Steve slouched in the uncomfortable chair, folding his arms across his chest. He settled his head against the chair back and closed his eyes.

Danny opened his mouth to speak again and promptly started coughing.

"When are you going to learn to listen to me? C'mon…you know I'm always right." Steve asked, exasperated. He unfolded himself from the chair and grabbed the cup of water from the nightstand, holding the straw to Danny's mouth so he could drink.

"You…" Danny sputtered, hacking and wheezing. His eyes watered. After another few sips of water his lungs and throat calmed down. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly in and out, completely spent.

"You finished?" Steve's face twitched in frustration.

"You're…delusional," Danny rasped, cracking an eye open and glaring at his partner.

"You're impossible," Steve glowered sprawling in the chair.

"Shut up already," Danny whispered carefully, grinning impudently at his best friend. "Trying to sleep here."

"Good night, Daniel," Steve shook his head in irritation. Deliberately he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Steve?" Danny said, gazing seriously at his partner slouched so uncomfortably in the hard plastic chair next to his bed.

"What?" Steve grumbled, impatiently lifting his head and opening his eyes to slits.

"Thanks," Danny said softly.

"Anytime," Steve replied quietly. He cleared his throat and leaned his head back. "Now go to sleep."

"Night, Steven," Danny smiled. He closed his eyes. He felt the medication kick in, the urge to cough subsiding. The weight lifted somewhat from his chest. Drowsily he drifted until the sound of his partner's steady breathing finally lulled him into sleep.

**tbc**

Make my day and leave a review—I always love to hear what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, I am so grateful for the all the incredible positive responses you've been giving to the story. Thank you so much for all the alerts. And to everyone who has left a review—you truly do make my day. Thank you so much. Thank you all for reading!

Thanks, of course, to my beta JoaniexJony! Your suggestions are always spot on!

So, did Danny suffer any permanent damage from the poisoning? Hmmmm….

**Hell Hath No Fury—Chapter Three**

Danny yawned and sleepily opened his eyes. He tentatively took a deep breath, relieved that it no longer felt like someone was stabbing him in the chest. He didn't have to fight so hard to breathe either.

He lifted his eyes and saw Kono smiling at him from the chair next to his bed.

"Hey Danny," Kono said, leaning forward. "How are you feeling?"

"Hi Kono," Danny blinked blearily at her. "Better, I think."

"Can I get you anything?" she asked. "Water? Some Gatorade? Food?"

Danny shook his head. He wasn't quite ready to trust putting anything in his stomach. He stretched as much as all the electrodes and wires attached to him would allow, noticing with satisfaction that his body felt less achy. "What time is it?"

Kono glanced at her watch. "It's a little after three. You've been asleep for a while."

Danny shook his head and chuckled ruefully. "You must be bored out of your mind. You don't have to stay, you know."

"It's no problem, brah," Kono held up a tablet. "I've been catching up on some reading."

A flurry of activity outside Danny's cubicle caught his attention. Alarms were blaring in a cubicle directly across from his, and a team of nurses and doctors descended upon the unlucky person in the bed.

"Dr. Suzuki stopped by this morning," Kono moved into Danny's line of vision. "She said you're making good progress—your fever's coming down and your heart rate and blood pressure are stabilizing. You might even get out of the ICU soon. That's good news."

"Yeah," Danny glanced up at Kono and made an attempt at a smile.

And then suddenly he was coughing, air rattling and whistling in his chest. He couldn't breathe. His heart felt like it was skipping wildly and the room began to spin. Tears sprang to his eyes. Dimly he heard an alarm pealing in the background.

He felt his inhaler pressed into his hand and then Kono was helping him move it to his mouth and release the medication. He closed his eyes, lying limply against the pillows as the medicine began to work, happy to simply be able to breathe.

"Better?" Kono asked, her dark eyes full of worry. Sympathetically she rubbed his arm.

"Mmmm…" he nodded, not yet trusting himself to speak.

A nurse Danny hadn't seen before bustled into his cubicle. She was older. Her snow white hair wound into a bun at the back of her head. Small and wiry, she exuded confidence and calm.

She took a quick glance at his monitors and turned off the alarm. She reached over his head and flipped a dial and Danny felt the air flow increase in the tubes in his nose.

"Just breathe nice and deep for me, Danny," she said, fishing a stethoscope out of her pocket. "I'm just going to take a quick listen here."

Kono looked on in concern as the nurse slid the chest piece under Danny's hospital gown and listened intently to his heart and lungs.

"Is he okay?" Kono bit her lower lip worriedly.

"He'll be fine," she smiled brightly at the younger woman. "Pneumonia can be a stubborn little bugger." She patted Danny reassuringly on the shoulder. "The antibiotics are working, but it's just going to take a little time. I'm Sarah by the way. Do you mind if I get your temp?"

"Hi," Danny whispered hoarsely, turning his head to the side so the nurse could slide the tip of the thermometer into his ear.

"100.3. That's great Danny," Sarah set the thermometer aside and smiled down at him. "It's nice to finally see those lovely blue eyes of yours," She glanced over at Kono. "Would you mind stepping out for a bit? I need to finish checking his vitals and then Danny is scheduled for an echo. I'd say give us about an hour and then you can have him back."

"Of course," Kono nodded. She reached over and grabbed Danny's hand, squeezing it firmly. "I'll see you later, brah. Hang in there."

"Thanks Kono," Danny smiled faintly. "I'll be here."

He watched with envy as his teammate walked swiftly away from his cubicle. At Sarah's mention of the echo, his stomach had gone queasy. He tried to push his anxiety down, but he could feel his palms going sweaty, and despite the oxygen, he was feeling lightheaded.

Sarah squeezed his arm. "None of that now, Danny. No sense fearing the worst until you know there's something to fear."

"I'd rather face fifteen armed gunmen with no backup, eat pineapple on my pizza and go surfing in shark infested waters," Danny whispered, wincing at the dryness in his throat.

Sarah gently squeezed Danny's shoulder and then asked, laughing mildly, "What's wrong with pineapple on pizza?"

She poured water into a cup and held the straw to Danny's lips.

Gratefully Danny sipped the water. When he was done, he set his head back on the pillow and glanced up at her, lips quirking into a grin. "What's not wrong with it?"

"Purist," Sarah teased, motioning to someone hovering just outside the cubicle. "How about we get this over with?"

At Danny's resigned nod, Sarah unfastened the snaps on the sleeves of Danny's hospital gown and drew the gown down to his waist. She helped him settle onto his back as the tech finished setting his equipment up next to Danny's bed.

After swinging the privacy curtain around the bed, the wizened old nurse gave Danny's bare shoulder a motherly pat and winked at him. "I think I'll stick around, keep my eye on you."

The lab tech rolled a stool next to the bed and sat down. "Hi Danny. My name is Koji," he said as he picked up the wand to the echocardiogram.

"Nice to meet you," Danny smiled wanly. His heart rate sped up and he felt Sarah lightly grip his hand.

"This is a pretty easy process," Koji explained. "Totally painless, you might feel some pressure on your chest as I move the wand around, and the gel I put on the tip of the wand will feel a little cold. From time to time I'll ask you to take a deep breath and hold it. We'll do this first with you on your back, and then we'll turn you on your left side and do it again. Okay?"

"Okay," Danny nodded. He blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling. It was ridiculous, really, to be on the verge of having a panic attack over one stupid medical exam. He got shot at. On a near daily basis. In comparison, this medical procedure was a piece of cake, right?

"Let's get started," Koji said. He applied gel to the tip of the wand and then pressed it to the ribs near Danny's breastbone.

But as Koji pressed the wand against his bare skin, Danny felt vulnerable and exposed. When he was breaching a house full of bad guys, he had tactics and strategy, not to mention Steve at his back. But the results of this test—they were completely out of his control. And they could utterly change his life.

"What did I say earlier?" Sarah asked, gently squeezing Danny's hand.

She pulled the chair Kono had vacated closer to the bed and sat down. She held Danny's hand between her own and while never taking her eyes from the images of Danny's heart now dancing across the ultrasound machine, she asked, "I hear you have a daughter. What's her name?"

"Grace," Danny answered. "She's ten."

"That's a good age," Sarah smiled. "What are your plans for your next weekend with her?"

And suddenly Danny found himself talking—telling Sarah all about Grace, how fast she was growing up, his hopes for her, and his disappointment that since the divorce he'd begun to miss so much of her life.

He talked about 5-0. About how this team that had dropped so unexpectedly into his lap had become the best work experience of his life. He'd been a part of a team before, but never like this. And that despite the fact that Steve could drive him absolutely batty, he'd never had a better friend.

Throughout the chatter, Koji had interjected his instructions and before Danny knew it they were rolling him to his side and then it was over. Sarah gently wiped the gel from Danny's chest with a damp cloth and then helped secure his gown back up over his shoulders.

"I'll get these results to Dr. Nakamura right away," Koji said as he gathered up his equipment. "He'll stop by later in the day to talk to you."

"Thanks," Danny sighed, pulling the covers back up over his chest.

Sarah waved goodbye to Koji as he pushed his equipment out of the cubicle. She turned to Danny, cocked her head, snapped her fingers and grinned. "Did I forget to tell you I was assigned to the cardiac intensive care unit for ten years?"

"You might have forgotten to tell me that," Danny looked curiously at the nurse. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means I've seen a lot of echos in my day," Sarah patted Danny's hand, "and even though you still need the official diagnosis from the doctor, from what I saw, your heart looks nice and healthy."

"Really?" Danny asked, relief flooding through him.

"Really," Sarah smiled. "So let's just focus on getting you over this pneumonia. You think you could eat something?"

"Maybe," Danny said doubtfully. "My stomach's still a little touchy."

"How about we try a little soup?" Sarah asked. "You need to get some strength back so we can get you the heck out of this ICU."

As Sarah turned to pick up the phone to order the food from the cafeteria, Danny snagged her hand, squeezing it gently. She stopped to look down at him.

"I think I might have lost my mind earlier if you hadn't talked me down," Danny said quietly. "I don't really know how to thank you. How the hell did I get so lucky to get you as my nurse? And Becky too, for that matter."

"That's an easy one. Malia likes you," Sarah laughed. "She pulled in some favors and rigged the nursing assignments. But I have to say, it's really been my pleasure."

"You're kidding," Danny startled.

"Are you surprised she likes you?" Sarah arched an eyebrow at the detective. "I believe the words she used were _impishly _charming."

"I just," Danny stumbled, reddening slightly, "I didn't expect…"

"That your ohana would take care of you?" Chin asked, leaning against the cubicle doorway. He gazed somberly at his teammate. "You're one of us now."

"Then I'm a lucky guy," Danny said hoarsely. He coughed, all the talking he'd been doing finally getting to him. The wheeze built in his lungs. He took a hit off his inhaler, and then closed his eyes and waited for the medicine to start working.

"I'll check on you later, Danny," Sarah smiled softly at her patient and then gave Chin a quick hug on her way out. "It took you long enough Chin Ho Kelly, but you made it right. You keep her happy, understand?"

"I intend to," Chin promised, smiling down at the tiny old woman.

Sarah nodded, quickly moving down the hall.

Chin stepped inside and sat down in the chair at Danny's bedside. "You look a lot better than the last time I saw you."

"I feel better," Danny opened his eyes and smiled wearily. He coughed deeply and rolled his eyes, adding, "Not that I feel that great."

"Everything's relative, brah," Chin smiled. He leaned back and rested his head on his hands.

"I'll give you that," Danny coughed again. He closed his eyes, dozing off.

Danny awoke to a gentle nudging on his shoulder and Steve's voice softly urging him to wake up.

"Come on Sleeping Beauty, your soup's getting cold," Steve said, lightly shaking Danny's shoulder.

"Not hungry," Danny grumbled sleepily, reluctantly opening his eyes.

"I'm gonna sit you up a little bit," Steve persisted. "You ready?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?" Danny glowered irritably at his partner.

Steve paused, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "Yes," he finally replied, pushing the button on the bedrail to raise the bed.

"I told you I'm not hungry," Danny wheezed a long cough. He closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the pillows.

Steve rolled the side table to Danny's bed, adjusting the height and positioning it over Danny's waist.

"You have to eat, Danny," Steve insisted, removing the cover from the dinner tray. "Come on."

With an aggravated sigh, Danny lifted his head and stared down at the soup. He picked up the spoon and poked suspiciously at the clear liquid. He dropped the spoon and glanced up at his partner, an affronted look on his face.

"That is not soup, Steven," Danny waved his hand over the bowl. "Soup is thick and creamy." He held his hand to his mouth and coughed. "It has big chunks of meat in it." He coughed again, his eyes tearing. "It even has a vegetable or two. Maybe a potato."

Danny coughed again, his knee reflexively jerking upwards and smacking the tray table. Soup sloshed in the bowl. Danny groaned. His knee smarted and he was painfully reminded he still had a tube shoved up a very sensitive place.

"Would you just shut up already and eat?" Steve gripped the tray table, steadying it to prevent the soup from spilling over the edges of the bowl.

Danny picked up the spoon again. He slowly swirled it in the bowl before finally lifting up a spoonful of soup. He held the spoon to his mouth and tentatively dipped his tongue in it. He shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut and scrunching his lips.

"Yech! That's disgusting," Danny complained, dropping the spoon back in the bowl and pushing it away from him.

"You know what's more disgusting?" Steve crossed his arms over his chest and leveled a gaze at Danny that clearly said he was completely out of patience. "The doctors cramming a tube up your nose so they can feed you because you won't feed yourself."

"You're right," Danny made a face. "That's even more disgusting."

"Eat!" Steve pushed the handle of the spoon towards Danny.

Slowly Danny swallowed spoonfuls of soup until more than half the bowl was gone. Finally he slumped against the pillows and pushed the tray table away.

"Done." He shook his head and closed his eyes.

Steve moved the table out of the way and sat down on the chair next to the bed.

Danny moved one arm over his stomach. His jaws clenched. "Gonna be sick," he muttered.

"No you're not, Danny," Steve said softly, leaning forward. "Breathe through it. Take slow deep breaths."

After several minutes deeply breathing on his oxygen, Danny ventured to open his eyes.

"Better?" Steve asked.

"A little," Danny murmured.

"You up for a present?" Steve asked, reaching down to pick something up off the floor.

"A present?" Danny raised an eyebrow and then glanced warily at his partner. "It's not a grenade, is it? Or a subscription to Guns & Ammo? A Rambo retrospective?"

"Really?" Steve frowned in aggravation at Danny. "A grenade? What would you do with a grenade in here?" He shook his head and briefly closed his eyes. "Never mind. Don't answer that."

Danny chuckled, waving a hand towards his partner. "Come on. What'd you get me?"

With an aggrieved sigh, Steve pinched his brow and shook his head once again as if to clear it. Then he held up a tablet, tapping the screen as he turned it towards Danny.

On the screen was a picture of Grace. Her arms encircled her dog in a fierce hug and she was smiling widely. Steve tapped the tablet again and suddenly Grace's voice filled the small cubicle.

"I love you, Danno." The child's voice was bright and energetic.

"Damn," Danny said, his eyes filling with tears. He reached for the tablet and Steve gave it to him. Danny stroked one finger over his daughter's face. "It's a damn fine present. Thank you Steven."

"I know they won't let her in to see you until you're more on the mend," Steve said quietly. "I figured it was the next best thing."

Danny nodded. He pulled the tablet to his chest, wrapping his arms around it. Exhaustion swept over him and his eyelids began to flutter.

Steve lowered the bed, resting his hand briefly on Danny's upper arm. "Get some sleep, Danno."

Danny curled onto his side, tablet still pressed to his chest, and was sound asleep before Steve had even re-taken his seat.

**tbc**

Make my day and hit the review button—I always love to hear what you think. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for all the alerts, and special thanks to everyone who's left a review—I appreciate it so much! I'm glad you love Danny whump as much as I do! :)

Mahalo to my wonderful beta JoaniexJony.

**Hell Hath No Fury—Chapter Four**

Danny shifted and sighed, slowly coming too. Even though he'd spent most of the past couple days sleeping, he was still unbelievably tired. He opened his eyes and tried to figure out what time it was. From the flurry of activity in the ICU, he guessed it was the morning shift change.

Lori sat in the chair next to his bed, her knees drawn to her chest. Her eyes were focused on a tablet she'd propped on her thighs, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Whatcha reading?" Danny asked, his voice like gravel.

"Hey Danny," Lori glanced up. "Not reading." She shook her head, turning the tablet so Danny could see the screen. "Scrabble. Some fourteen-year old in Virginia is kicking my ass. I think he's cheating."

Danny laughed, coughing slightly.

Lori set the tablet aside and poured Danny a fresh cup of water. Handing it to him she said, "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better, actually," Danny said, realizing with some surprise that it was true.

There was a knock at the door and a lab tech tentatively walked inside. The young man fidgeted slightly as he set down his supplies and pulled some paperwork from his lab coat pocket.

"I have orders to draw blood from…" he peered at the slip of paper, "Danny Williams." He glanced back up and looked at Danny expectantly.

Danny smothered a laugh at the eager young lab tech who he could have sworn wasn't more than twelve.

"Yup, unfortunately that's me," Danny nodded, raising his hand slightly.

"Oh, okay," the tech moved uncertainly closer to the bed. "I just have to…" he fumbled with the ID bracelet on Danny's wrist, glancing back and forth between the bracelet and his paperwork before he finally smiled with relief. "Okay, good."

Fastidiously the tech laid out all his equipment on a tray table next to the bed. Then he sat down and gripped Danny's left arm. "So I'm just going to…" his voice faltered as he clumsily attempted to secure a rubber tourniquet around Danny's bicep. "Uh…" he bit his lip, seemingly completely confounded, as the bottom of the blood pressure cuff kept getting in his way.

"Um, Lori?" Danny cast an alarmed glance at his teammate.

"On it," Lori smoothly shot from the chair, heading into the hallway outside Danny's cubicle.

"There," the tech said triumphantly. He smiled in relief as he pulled on a pair of gloves and began to thoroughly wipe down the inner side of Danny's forearm with an alcohol swab. Taking a deep breath, he retrieved a needle, extracting it from the packaging. He gripped Danny's arm, frowning in concentration as he aimed the needle at the now bulging vein.

Danny winced as the needle pierced his skin.

"Uh…whoops….I missed," The tech glanced apprehensively at his patient. "Let me try that again."

"Yeah, why don't you…ugh," Danny sucked in a gasp as the needle jabbed into his arm. He bit his lip and glowered at the tech, gritting out, "Try that again."

Clumsily the tech released the tourniquet around Danny's arm. Sweat popped out on the young man's forehead as he maneuvered the needle under Danny's skin, desperately trying to get the vein. His hands trembled, the trembling growing more pronounced with each flinch and jerk of his patient's arm.

Danny winced, his lips twitching in pain as the tech dug the needle around in his arm. Finally the man gave up, withdrawing the needle in defeat. For a second, Danny thought the man was going to cry in frustration.

Danny couldn't keep the irritation out of his face as he watched the distraught lab tech prepare to start over, organizing his equipment. He wasn't sure he could restrain from punching the man if he came at him with the needle one more time. His rescue came swiftly as Becky charged into the cubicle.

"Well hello there," Becky smoothly inserted herself between Danny and the unfortunate lab tech. "I haven't seen you before. You must be new."

"Yes, Ma'am," the young man stuttered. "It's my third day, actually." The tech carefully avoided looking at Danny. "There were a bunch of call outs downstairs…I've never had any problems with the practice dummy arm. I don't understand…" his voice trailed off miserably.

"Well, live patients are always a bit trickier. Why don't you let me take over and you can watch," Becky smiled cheerily at the flustered tech. "Can I see the orders?"

After a careful glance at the paperwork she nodded and then snagged a pair of gloves. She smiled at Danny and winked. "All right, let's try this again."

She reapplied the tourniquet and then re-swiped Danny's inner arm with the alcohol swab. She swiftly inserted the needle and easily released the tourniquet. Almost immediately blood began to spurt into the collection tube. "You see…" she cast a sideways glance at the young man, "what's your name?"

"Bobby," he replied.

"You see, Bobby," Becky continued. "Veins like to roll. You just have to get adept at catching them. And you always want to insert the needle in a smooth, fluid motion. It's easier on the patient." She glanced up at Danny as she efficiently removed the now full tube and placed it on the tray table. She replaced it with a second vial. "How are you doing Danny?"

"You're a goddess, Becky," Danny sighed in relief, watching in fascination as his blood spurted into yet a third vial.

"Years of experience," she smiled, giving Bobby a reassuring wink.

"Don't feel so bad," Danny glanced over at Bobby, his lips quirking into a grin. "The first guy I shot? I missed his heart by a mile."

Bobby paled and gulped, stepping quickly back away from the bed.

"_Danny Williams_," Becky choked back a laugh as she capped the third vial and smoothly pulled the needle from Danny's arm. She pressed a gauze pad to the needle mark and raised Danny's forearm.

"All done," the nurse smiled brightly. She tossed her gloves in the waste receptacle and then supervised Bobby's notations on the vials before sending the young lab tech on his way.

"Thanks for the intervention," Danny said as Becky checked the wound and then placed a bandage over it.

"My pleasure," Becky chuckled. "I have good news for you."

"I get to go home," Danny guessed eagerly.

"Not quite," Becky smiled as she began to take Danny's vitals. "But we are moving you to your own room. Your heart rate and blood pressure have stabilized, your fever's staying down, and your lungs are clearing up, so you no longer require constant monitoring."

"Well I'll miss you and Sarah," Danny wrinkled his nose at all the monitoring equipment surrounding his bed, "But not much else."

"Can't say's I blame you," Becky agreed, drawing the privacy curtain in front of the glass window of Danny's cubicle. "Are you ready to get that catheter out?"

"Please," Danny groaned, nodding.

Becky pulled the bedcovers down to Danny's ankles and then laid out her supplies. She lifted Danny's hospital gown up to his waist, placed a container between his legs and then snapped on a fresh pair of gloves.

"Just relax," Becky glanced up at Danny. "Breathe slowly in and out. I'll be pulling out the tubing on your exhales, and you can expect a small level of discomfort. Are you ready?"

Danny nodded and closed his eyes. His lips twitched at the sharp tugs of the catheter as it moved through his urethra. And then finally it was over and Becky was gently cleaning him up. She lowered his gown and pulled up the blankets.

Within minutes the pulse ox clip, the EKG leads, the blood pressure cuff, the nasal cannula and one of his IV's were gone.

"You'll still be getting extra fluids, plus another course of antibiotics through the remaining IV," Becky explained. "Continue to use the inhaler as needed."

Becky drew open the privacy curtain and waved in the two orderlies waiting outside. They moved a gurney into the cubicle next to the bed and helped Danny to slide over. Becky handed Danny his inhaler and hung the IV bags from the pole on the gurney.

"Take care of yourself, Detective Williams," Becky smiled. "I hope we don't see you back here."

"Thank you," Danny reached out and took Becky's hand. "For everything."

"I'm just doing my job," Becky said softly.

"Then thank you for doing it so well," Danny said sincerely.

"You're welcome," Becky nodded.

"Can you give my thanks to Sarah?" Danny asked.

"Of course," Becky replied.

Danny lay back against the pillows and breathed a sigh of relief as the orderlies maneuvered the gurney out of the ICU.

**-H-50—**

Danny tossed the magazine he was reading onto the side table and impatiently glanced at his watch. Grace was due any minute. Her drawings covered the walls, and his favorite picture of her was in a frame on the table next to his bed. When he'd been brought down from the ICU two days ago, his team had surprised him by decorating the room before he got there. And he still had the tablet with the picture and audio file Grace and Steve had given him.

Steve, Kono, Chin and Lori had all taken turns to keep him company. One of them was always nearby. There when Danny needed them, quietly disappearing when he didn't.

He'd also had visits from the DA and Phil. Although when Phil had begun to beg Danny for leniency for his wife, Danny had been sure Steve was going to hit the man. Lucky for Phil, Steve managed to restrain himself. He'd settled for giving him one of his _looks_, and strongly urging the man to leave.

Quite frankly, he was ready to go back to his quiet hotel room and recover in private. Dr. Suzuki was optimistic he'd be ready to be released the next day and Danny was crossing his fingers nothing got in the way.

His appetite was slowly returning, helped along by home made dishes that made his mouth water—courtesy of Kono, Malia, Chin and Lori, who'd turned out to be quite an amazing cook.

He scratched at the tape holding the IV catheter in place. They'd moved it to his left hand, and as far as Danny was concerned, the nurse who'd inserted it could have taken a lesson from Becky. Steve had brought him a pair of pajamas, so other than the hospital itself, the IV was the only thing that would remind Grace her father had been so ill. He was still on oxygen, but only when he needed it. And he'd been determined that when Grace visited for the first time, he wouldn't have the cannula tubing on his face.

The door swung open and then Grace was hurtling towards him. "Daddy!" she cried.

Steve grinned in the doorway. "Hey Danny." He stepped inside and dropped Grace's backpack on a chair.

"Hi Monkey," Danny opened his arms, wrapping his arms tightly around his daughter as she squirmed her way onto the bed and against his chest. He smiled at Steve over the top of her head.

"Thanks buddy," Danny said.

"No problem," Steve smiled back. "I'll be back later," he waved, backing out of the room and closing the door, leaving father and daughter alone.

"I missed you so much!" Grace said. "Are you feeling better, Danno?"

"So much better, Gracie," Danny hugged her again. "I might get to go home tomorrow."

"That's good," Grace smiled. She sat back, crossing her legs on the bed.

"What do you want to do?" Danny asked, gently rubbing circles on her back.

"I have a new book. Can we read it?" Grace asked.

"I would love to," Danny smiled indulgently, patting her on the back. "Go get it."

Grace jumped down from the bed, and dug around in her backpack. Grabbing the book, she climbed back up on the bed, and Danny scooted over so she could sit next to him. Handing him the bright yellow book she settled against his chest.

"Nancy Drew?" Danny looked at Grace in surprise. The last book they'd been reading had been a fantasy by Rick Riordan.

"Auntie Lori and Auntie Kono gave it to me," Grace said. "It's about a girl detective."

"Indeed, it is," Danny nodded. "Okay," he said, opening the book. "You want to read first?"

Grace nodded, beginning to read the first paragraph out loud.

Danny hugged Grace close, his arm loosely draped around her shoulder. He read one chapter and then gave the task back to the little girl in order to avoid inducing another coughing fit. Before he knew it, his eyelids were drooping. His head dropped back against the pillows, his daughter's voice soothing in his ears.

When Steve checked in on them later to see if Grace was ready to go, Danny was sound asleep, softly snoring. Grace sat quietly next to him, drawing in a notebook. She looked over at Steve, silently giggled and held a finger to her lips.

Steve smiled and carefully walked across the room, taking a seat in a chair near the window. Together, he and Grace watched over Danny until it was time to take Grace home.

**tbc**

**A/N**: My apologies to the many highly skilled phlebotomists in the world, I just had to have a bit fun with our Danno… :)

Make my day and leave a review—I always love to hear what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hell Hath No Fury—Chapter Five**

"I'm out," Danny tossed his cards on the coffee table and sat back, looping his arm over the back of the couch.

Danny had been released from the hospital three days before and was back at his suite at the Hilton. He still tired easily and his lungs were a little congested, but the doc had assured him he was well on the road to recovery.

"Me too," Kono sighed, dropping her cards face down on the table. "Too rich for my blood."

Lori tapped her cards to her chin and studied her opponent, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Okay," she finally said. "I'll see your five M&M's, and I'm even going to raise you ten more." She tossed the candy in the middle of the table and nodded at the child sitting across from her. "I call. Let's see what you've got, Lil' Williams."

Grace carefully added her own candy to the large pile on the table then lowered her cards, spreading all five out for everyone to see. She looked up at her father and grinned.

"Oh dude!" Kono laughed in amazement. "That's a royal flush! You are a shark, girl!" She high fived the beaming child and then motioned towards Lori. "Come on, lay 'em out. What did you have?"

Lori put her cards down. "Four of a kind," she sighed, smiling over at Grace.

"Good, but not good enough!" Danny declared, his eyes shining with pride.

Suddenly he turned his head to the side and started coughing. He grabbed his inhaler from the side table and pumped the medication into his airways. He closed his eyes until the medication began working and the episode passed. Danny knew better than to try and talk in the middle of it—it just made things worse.

"You okay there?" Kono asked lightly, handing Danny a glass of water.

Danny took a sip and nodded, smiling reassuringly at Grace. The little girl was solemnly staring up at him. Her brown eyes were worried. The small brow furrowed with concern.

"Hey," Lori nudged the child gently with her elbow. "Can I, uh, have one of your M&M's? I swear I'm good for it. I just…uh…I need some chocolate, bad."

"Me too?" Kono picked up on Lori's distraction of Danny's daughter. "These M&M's have been taunting me all afternoon. I've wanted one so bad I almost ate them instead of using them to bet. Please?" Kono inched towards Grace. She continued in a sing song voice. "If I don't get one I'm gonna have to tickle you instead."

Grace shrieked with laughter as Kono pulled the child into her arms and began tickling her.

"Okay, okay!" Grace giggled. "You and Auntie Lori can have some."

As the three girls popped candy into their mouths, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Danny grinned. He walked across the hotel suite and threw open the door.

Steve, Chin, and a pizza delivery guy stood outside.

"Really Danny?" Steve jerked his thumb towards the delivery guy and stared at his partner in disbelief. "_That_ is not heart healthy food."

"Doc said my heart is perfect," Danny smiled widely as he pulled out his wallet and handed some bills to the delivery man. Eagerly he took the pizza box.

"And I would think you'd want to keep it that way," Steve said in disgust.

"What took you guys so long?" Danny asked. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"Got held up with the DA," Steve's eyes darkened.

"They're pleading her out, brah," Chin said softly, closing the door behind them.

"I know," Danny nodded, glancing down at the floor. "The DA called me. It's okay."

"It's not okay, Danny!" Steve said, his voice rising angrily. "That woman could have killed you!"

"Hey!" Danny raised his eyebrows in warning, motioning behind them with his head towards the living room where Kono, Lori and Grace were sitting. "Take it down a notch, please."

"_Sorry,_" Steve sighed contritely. He moved past Danny into the living area. "Hey Gracie!"

"Uncle Steve!" Grace got up, bounding towards her dad's best friend.

Steve swung the little girl up into his arms. She settled against his shoulder.

"Hi, Grace," Chin smiled.

"Hi, Uncle Chin," Grace waved.

She bent towards Steve's ear and whispered, "Is the bad woman going to hurt my daddy again?"

"No," Steve glanced over the child's head and looked at his partner. Danny raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Steve sighed and then shifted the girl in his arms so he could look her in the eye. "She won't. And she didn't mean to hurt Danno. It was an accident."

"Did she say she was sorry?" Grace asked, looking over at her father.

"She did, baby," Danny nodded. He set down the pizza box on the coffee table and took his daughter from Steve, settling her against his hip. "Everything's okay. I promise."

"Okay," Grace threw her arms around Danny's neck and hugged him. "I love you Danno and I'm glad you're all right."

"I love you too, Monkey," Danny kissed the top of her head and then set the child on the floor. "Okay, who's ready to eat?"

He flipped open the pizza box and stared at the pizza in horror. "Oh no. No. No…No. This is _not_ what I ordered."

"Yes it is," Grace piped up.

"No," Danny stabbed a finger towards the pizza. "I would _never_ order pineapple on pizza. That is an abomination! I should have known I couldn't trust online ordering."

"I clicked on the pineapple topping," Grace gazed up at him wide eyed. "I like it."

"You _like_ it," Danny stared at Grace as if she'd suddenly grown two heads. "You like pineapple on pizza..."

She nodded, edging past her father to grab a slice.

"This is your fault, Steven," Danny scowled at his best friend. "I blame you."

"What did I do?" Steve laughed, sitting down next to Grace.

"You could always order up some room service," Chin suggested. "I hear the house special is pretty good."

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"Chicken salad," Chin grinned, sitting down on the couch and helping himself to a slice of pizza.

"Chicken salad." Danny gave Chin a wounded look. "That's funny. You're a laugh riot. If I ever see a chicken salad sandwich again, it'll be too soon."

"That was cold, cuz," Kono laughed. She sat cross legged on the floor and reached into the box.

"So cold," Lori giggled as she sat down next to Kono. Glancing up at Danny she said, "Oh come on, Danny. It's not that bad. Try a piece. What do you have against pineapples anyway?" She pulled a slice out of the box and held it out towards Danny.

"Oh no," Steve groaned. "Don't get him started. Just pick the damn things off, Danny. You don't have to eat them."

Danny gingerly took the slice and stared at it. The yellow wedges of pineapple made the cheese look lumpy. "Pineapple on pizza," Danny wrinkled his nose. "It's unnatural. I can't do it."

Chin polished off his first slice and helped himself to another. "You've already ditched the tie, brah. Face it. You're here to stay. Time to move on to the next level."

"And the next level is pineapple on pizza?" Danny asked dubiously.

"When in Rome, brah," Kono grinned.

Danny glanced at Grace. The little girl laughed and nodded vigorously. "It's yummy Danno. Just try it."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered. Then he closed his eyes, pinched his nose, opened his mouth and took a bite. Shuddering, he swallowed. He grabbed his glass of water and chugged it down.

"Up next: surfing," Kono grinned. "Pretty soon, we won't be able to tell the difference between you and a native."

"Oh, I think you'll be able to tell the difference," Danny disagreed, doubtfully eyeing what remained of his pizza slice.

The small group of friends devolved into fits of laughter, and Danny plopped down on the couch next to Grace. As she took another large bite of her slice of pineapple infested pizza, he had a strong feeling resistance was futile.

Resigned to his fate, he sighed and took another bite. If nothing else, at least the pineapple and pizza didn't make him want to hurl. That was something that could be said for the blasphemous concoction. Probably the only thing. Definitely the only thing.

Danny looked at Grace. "Next time, we put the pineapple on only half the pizza, okay Gracie?"

"Okay, Daddy," Grace grinned.

"I hate this place," Danny grumped, taking another bite.

"Nah," Steve chuckled. "You'd be lost without us."

Danny washed down the pizza with another swig of water and looked at his team. Steve was right, though he'd never admit it. He figured the Navy SEAL's head was big enough…

**The End **

**A/N #1**: I had way more fun than any person oughta writing this story. Thank you so much for indulging my love for whumping the heck out of Danny. Poor boy. Really. He just runs now whenever he sees me coming. Unfortunately for him, he just never seems to run fast enough… :)

Thank you for reading. Thank you for all the alerts.

Thank you so very much to everyone who has left a review. That feedback definitely makes the hours spent toiling over my computer worthwhile and without doubt it provides inspiration to write more. Hugs to you all.

And speaking of toiling, this leads me to…

**A/N #2: **I have no words for the awesomeness of **JoaniexJony**, my amazing beta, who always finds time in her busy life to read my work and make astute and insightful suggestions that help to strengthen it before its release into a public forum. Thank you, hon. I would most definitely be lost without you!

And finally…

**A/N #3: **A word about pineapples. Just in case there's any confusion—there is some wonderfully fun fic out there about Danny having an allergy to pineapples. This story follows canon, which established early in S1 (1.6) when he ate a slice of pineapple and drank a Blue Hawaii (that has pineapple juice in it) that Danny has no such allergy. Not a knock on those stories, which are awesome. Just a clarification—the lines of fandom and Show sometimes get blurred… :)

So, you know, hit the review button—I love to hear what you think!


End file.
